Professor Z meets Jeff D
by PuffofLogic
Summary: Z spends a little time with himself...from a different timeline of course. It is Black Hole High after all. Conclusion Spoilers, takes place between Inquiry and Conclusions
1. Chapter 1

Professor Z sat in his office late one night correcting papers. He took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. He put the glasses back to his face and looked around the room before reminding himself that he should probably finish the papers before he went to bed.

He sighed and looked back to the paper he was correcting, ninety-eight percent, Lucas Randall. The paper before, Corrine Baxter, one hundred percent. He lifted up and the one under it was, of course, Vaughn's paper. However, there were people missing. Josie had been missing for three months now, Marshall for one, and his science class was noticeably smaller.

Principal Durst had been pushing him to move out of his office but Lucas had convinced him to keep it open as long as possible; there was a better chance of finding Josie he had reasoned.

After another half hour of grading, Zachary gave up on finishing that night got up out of his chair and started toward the door.

Suddenly, the tiles on the floor began to warp and twist. Z gasped in amazement. He'd been through the wormhole, but only once before and this was a fascinating device really. It caused havoc with the school, but the fact that it was an unbelievable scientific phenomenon was never far from his mind.

The professor thought, elated, _Maybe Josie's coming back!_ He bent closer to the deepening hole in the floor…and was pulled through.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Professor Zachary was deposited unceremoniously on the floor of his office. He brushed off his pants as he stood up and looked around. The first thing he noticed, to his disappointment, was that Josie was nowhere in sight.

He sighed and started back to his desk to finish, he didn't think that he could sleep now anyway. He looked up and froze. Noel spun around and flashed his gaze around the empty room--the very empty room.

Where was his desk? His microscope? His _kite_? Everything was gone! He continued staring around his unrecognizable office, looking for anything familiar. Nothing showed itself and Z walked out the unmarked door and started down the vacant hall.

He was so busy looking around the hallway; he bumped right into someone coming the other way down the hall.

"Sorry." They said simultaneously. "No problem." There was a slight pause where both men stopped.

Z turned around to face…himself?

The man before him was the same height, same build, same eye and hair color, but without glasses, dressed in casual clothes and his hair was slightly spiked.

"Whoa."

Jeff Douglas had been heading out of the Auchmar Estate when he bumped into someone dressed like Professor Zachary. When he looked closer though, he saw not only someone dressed like Professor Z, but also someone dressed like himself dressed as Professor Z.

Z thought quickly and came up with the memory of Josie coming from the past into the same timeline as…herself. His brow furrowed, thinking, yeah, it did make sense. It had been the same day as the Pizza Party that Durst had put on to distract the students from the tests Mr. Pearson had been doing.

"Fascinating." Z breathed, circling his counterpart.

Jeff leaned back wondering what was going on. "And you are…?" He asked not unkindly.

"Ahhh…of course," Z hesitated, slightly puzzled. If this man was indeed himself in a different timeline, shouldn't he know who he was? Professor Z shook his head; this was confusing. "I'm Professor Zachary. I teach science here…or I did…or I will…" He frowned again.

Jeff was now sure something was up. He would've assumed that this man was a fan or something along those lines, but he could've been a mirror image except for the clothes, hair and glasses. "Alright, Professor Zachary was it?" At his nod, Jeff continued. "May I ask how you got here?"

Z hesitated again. If his counterpart didn't know about the wormhole, he couldn't very well tell him. Then again, he might just be testing to see if he, himself, knew about it. Was he the counterpart or was his counterpart the counterpart? This situation was more confusing now that he was in Josie's shoes. Of course, he reasoned, Josie never had to interact with her counterpart, just avoid her.

Jeff noticed the man's hesitation and asked, "Did you come through the wormhole in the science office?" He asked it neutrally but a small unwilling part of his mind was starting to suspect that this man might be who he said he was. _But that's impossible! It's a television show! I can't believe I'm even thinking this! _Another part of his mind disagreed._ Just play along, you'll figure this out. _

Professor Zachary smiled at the question, happy to be sure of something. "Yes, I was correcting papers, and the vortex opened and pulled me in."

"Uh huh." Jeff wondered what to do know. "Okay then Z; let's go back to the science office." He turned around and started back down hall.

Z followed with a surprised look on his face. _Huh, he called me Z. What else does he know about my time line? It has to be different then his, but it may be only slightly. _He paused in his thoughts, a frown on his face once more. _If he knows about my time line, I can't let him tell me anything that might not have happened yet. Josie was lucky not to skew the time line when she went back._

Remembering her exploits, Zachary's brow furrowed. _She had to be in the right place in the right time to get back or else it would've flawed and possibly destroyed her time line. _His eyes widened. _What if I distort this time line? What if, just by being here I have changed the history of my time line? I can't do this alone; I need to talk to my counterpart. …I also need to ask his name, even if he's just Noel, its easier then calling him a counterpart. _

"All right, this is where you came out?" Jeff's question broke into his thought.

Z looked around, surprised; they had walked down the hall and into the science office without him noticing. "Ahh...yeah, yes, this is it. Wait, may I ask your name?"

"I'm Jeff, Jeff Douglas." Jeff was looking around the room, with a far away look in his eyes; he smiled and chuckled to himself, reminiscing.

_That's odd. Jeff…that's nowhere near my name, first or last. Maybe this person isn't my counterpart after all. If that's the case though, why does he look so much like me, or me so much like him? Think scientifically. The first things to do is gather information. _He remembered his prior thought about finding out too much about the future. _Just not too much information._

"So," Z sidled up beside Jeff, "are you the science teacher here?"

"What? Oh, no, not exactly." Jeff looked at the man beside him. If this guy was going to say he was Professor Z, why not go along with it. _Because it's insane!_ _True,_ said another part of his mind, _but it's also kind of fun. All right, if this _is_ Z he should know about his dad. The filming for Conclusions is finished, but it hasn't aired yet, there's no way he could know. Unless,_ that part of his mind said again, _he's the real deal. _"This might be a little personal, but," He paused wondering how to phrase it, "umm… Did you grow up with both parents?"

Z locked eyes with him for a moment, then turned away, "No, I was raised by my mother alone; my dad left us when I was young." He wasn't entirely sure why he was telling Jeff this; it just seemed the appropriate thing to do. "I went and found him later, but he wasn't what I had expected," He grinned mirthlessly, "what I had hoped."

Jeff felt torn between sympathy for Z and amazement that he _was_ Professor Zachary from Blake Holsey High. Sure, there had been hints about Z's past in the show, Transference especially, but he had nailed it. About going and finding his dad, and there was no way, he could've been sneaking around during filming; the security was very good. The only possible explanation was that he _was_ Professor Z; as impossible as that sounded.

"You really _are_ Professor Z." Jeff said, looking at him with barely concealed disbelief.

Noel was slightly confused in this change of topic. "Yes…I told you that." Suddenly, he noticed the look on Jeff's face. "You didn't believe me!"

"Well…no I didn't. You have to understand that it's hard to believe you, when it's just a TV show." Jeff stopped, realizing what he'd said and paused waiting for the question he knew was coming.

"_What_ is just a TV show?" Z asked, hoping he'd misunderstood the statement.

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Well, here we are, I finally got this finished and put up! It's less of a story and more of an out-of-control oneshot, but hey, it has a vague plotline! I'll admit, it's not one of my best works, but I had fun writing it and I hope you have fun reading it, maybe even enough to review if I'm lucky!


	2. Chapter 2

"Uh…it's hard to explain…" Jeff tried to back around the topic.

Z noticed and knew something was wrong. He looked closer at Jeff, trying to figure out what it was. "What's hard to explain? There's no hurry, I'm not going anywhere."

"Well…Blake Holsey High…it's sort of a…you see I play...ummm…it really is difficult to explain…" Jeff floundered for the words. He wasn't sure whether to tell the professor and whether or not he _could _tell him.

Z was getting a bit impatient and a little worried. _Is something wrong with my timeline that he knows about and won't tell me? _Should _he tell me? Too much information can be dangerous. Then again, too _little _information isn't good either. _Z made up his mind. "You should tell me, it might be important."

"All right…if you're sure…It still doesn't make it any easier." Jeff took a deep breath, then just blurted it out. "Strange Days at Blake Holsey High. It's TV show." He looked up to see Z staring at him in disbelief.  
"What?" This was not what he had been expecting at all. _This timeline must be skewed. He thinks he's in a TV show. Unless, we _are_ in a TV show. _Z resisted the urge to turn and look for a camera. _Well, if we are it's too late to keep the wormhole a secret. I need more information. _Z started to ask another question before realizing that Jeff hadn't answered his first one. Z focused on Jeff and found him glancing with a worried look at Z's own face.

_I hope he's taking this well. It's got to be a shock to find your recent life has been set up. Then again, did Jim make it up? If he did, how is it possible he's here?_ Jeff shook his head and answered Z's question slowly.

"Well, you see, this is the Auchmar Estate. It's the set for the television show, Black Hole High or Strange Days at Blake Holsey High. I play… Professor Noel Zachary." Jeff paused again, waiting.

Z's partially formed question lie forgotten as he felt the hit of this new bit of information. He struggled for something to say. "Well…I guess that explains the resemblance."

Jeff, for some unknown reason found this enormously funny. His face split into a grin, then he started laughing. Z, caught by this hilarity, began laughing too.

They continued to laugh a few moments longer, then fell into a comfortable silence as they looked around the bare office. Jeff reached up to wipe away a tear that had found its way out as they were laughing.

"So," Z began after another moment. "I'm a character in a… television show, you're the actor who plays my character, and this is the set for the show."

Jeff nodded without looking at him.

Z shrugged, "All right then."

Jeff looked at him and grinned again. "Well, now you know why I had a hard time believing you. I think that you actually, must be much more open minded then I am. You're coming to grips with it better then I did."

Z looked across at him with a small, slightly guilty smile, "Actually, to begin with, I thought you were…" He trailed off.

"Kidding? Lying? Insane?" Jeff laughed at the last, "I was the same way with you."

Z smiled and looked around once more, then frowned. "Wait a moment, if this is the set for the—what did you call it?—Strange Days at Black Hole High? —then why is it empty? Where's all the lights, cameras, action?"  
Jeff looked uncomfortable again, and Z's stomach twisted. _Is something already going wrong here because I came? What if, by changing this timeline, I change my own, for the worse! _"Is something wrong?" Z asked worriedly.

Jeff tilted his head slowly. "Not exactly…"

"How do you mean?"

Jeff wondered how to tell someone that his life might cease to exist once Conclusions aired. "Well, we just finished filming Conclusions, —what happened after Josie disappeared—and its going to air in January I believe. Then," Jeff shrugged, "that's a wrap. Series is most likely over." He paused thinking, "Of course, it did come back after almost a year, anything is possible."

"Wait, you know what happens after Josie disappeared? Is she all right? Where is she? How do we get to her?" Z completely disregarded everything after 'what happened after Josie disappeared'.

Jeff looked at him, slightly afraid of this Z he'd never had to play. This man before him was genuinely worried about Josie. He knew her as a student and cared about her like a daughter. Jeff felt guilty for a moment for just acting what this man lived. He, Jeff, had pretended to do what this man had done and felt the consequences of. The real Professor Zachary hadn't just stopped feeling and worrying after the camera lights had been shut off. This was a real person with real feelings and Jeff could never hope to act with the emotions Z was going through right now.

"I'm not sure if I should tell you…you might just have to live through it and wait for it to happen…" Jeff wished he tell Z more, but he'd acted in enough of the show to know that if it was all real, he couldn't afford to give to much information.

Z froze staring at Jeff with disbelief in his eyes. "If you know if Josie is all right, you have to tell me. If she's coming back, I have to know." He said this dead serious, but Jeff could hear the under currants of pain.

He sighed deeply, feeling sympathy for the man in front of him. "What if the time line is…screwed up though? What if…" Jeff thought for a moment trying to remember the right words. "In your desire to save Josie, you end up destroying everything?" Jeff said this slowly, modifying the original script of Wormhole2 to fit.

Z started and looked at Jeff, unbelieving. "You really do play me! That's what I said to Josie when she came back from three hours in the future! Before that I explained about multiple dimensions to her using---," He broke off as Jeff interrupted.

"Cat's Cradle." Jeff nodded, then realization struck. "Hey! You didn't believe me?"

Z looked guiltily at him. "No, I didn't really. It's hard to grasp. You're saying that everything we've gone through is a made up television show. Would you believe it?"

That made Jeff pause. It was a lot like what he was feeling now. "Probably not. Then again, if you're here, then it can't be completely made up, can it?"

"True." Z stopped and thought a moment. "You say that someone made up this…show, and I'm a character in it. Is it possible that our dimensions have somehow overlapped? We have separate lives and timelines, but this common factor."

Z's face lit up with sudden excitement, and he turned to Jeff. "Do you understand the implications of this? The possibility that timelines can overlap opens entirely new doorways for science! The space-time continuum is layered with the different dimensions of all the decisions ever made and this could mean that it's getting smaller. The timelines may be overlapping and eventually combining entirely! Our different timelines are now connected in a very small but significant way, but over time, that connection may expand to the entire dimension and it would meld the two timelines together. One day, far in the future, our timelines may be one. And if that's possible, anything may be." Z ended with a shrug, a grin still on his face as he looked at an indiscriminant point and thought about the possibilities.

Jeff looked at the man, and tried not to laugh, Professor Z was so excited about this meeting, _and why shouldn't he be? He's a scientist. You're having fun, he's discovering new possibilities. It is funny though, he acts just like I had to in the show. _Z's next comment broke into Jeff's thoughts.

"…If my timeline is a TV show in yours, it there a chance that this conversation maybe just is written too? Maybe, somewhere, in another timeline, there's a couple people acting out this scene right now." Z looked to Jeff.

He thought about it and shivered, it was weird to imagine someone acting out what you were living.

"Exactly." Z said, still looking at Jeff. "That's why it's so hard to believe you."

It took Jeff a moment to connect what Z was saying. "Am I that transparent?" He asked.

Z laughed, "No, I just figured that's what you'd be thinking, that's what anyone would be thinking. That's what I'm thinking…" He trailed off, looking at the empty office.

Suddenly, he snapped back to focus. "About Josie, is there anyway to get her back?"

Jeff sighed, he'd hoped Z would forget about that. "I can't tell you, you know that."

"You _have _to be able to tell me _something_!" Z insisted.

"All right…she'll come back on her own…eventually." Jeff hoped it was vague enough, yet still satisfactory.

"Eventually? How long is 'eventually'?" pushed Z.

"Ummm…within a year." Jeff answered.

Z leaned against the wall. "A year, an entire year. Oh, Josie…" He removed his glasses and wiped them on his shirt before replacing them and turning back to Jeff. "Is she all right? Safe I mean?"

Jeff shrugged helplessly. "I don't know." _The show never really explained how exactly Josie survived in the other timeline. _"She _will _come back though, I promise you that."

Z looked to him. "I'm holding you to it." He was completely serious.

Jeff stared at the crestfallen man before him and tried to turn the conversation to a lighter topic. "So…You do believe me now right? That I play you on Black Hole High?"

Z willingly turned from the previous subject. "Honestly? I'm not sure, you seem to know about these things, but it could just be coincidence. Do you have any physical proof?"

Jeff shrugged. "Like what?" Then his eyes lit up, "Yes I do! I have proof you won't believe!"

"Well, that won't do much good will it?" Z asked rhetorically.

"Follow me!" Jeff ran out of the room and walked quickly down the hall with Z following wonderingly behind.

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Thanks pinoyjdem7195 for reviewing, I really appriciate it!

I hope you all enjoy it enough to review, because that would be great!

Oh yeah, I forgot the Disclaimer. I just say that I own nothing. Sigh.

And just to let you know, I couldn't get the subscript to work so I know it's wormhole squared not wormhole 2. Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Jeff finally found what he was looking for, he leaped into room empty of people but with a lot of debris. It looked like a party had gone on, which in fact, as Jeff explained, was exactly what had happened.

"Yesterday was the last day of filming. We had a Conclusion celebration of sorts today. Everyone got together, visited, and snacked. We also played some favorite episodes." Jeff excitedly gathered up a box of videos and set them on a table. He looked at Professor Z. "We don't have time to see an entire one, but would you like to see the promo?"

"Promo?" Z asked trying to understand the information being thrown at him.

"Yeah, the bit they show before the episode. Just to tell you about it. Here I'll just show you." Jeff stuck in a video and pressed play. He found a couple chairs and sat down in one, gesturing for Z to do the same.

Z sat hesitantly, still not sure what exactly he was in for. His hesitance vanished after a second as the video began to play.

_Blake Holsey High, just another boarding school, or so I thought. _

"That's Josie!" Z couldn't contain himself.

Jeff grinned at him, "Actually, it's Emma, she plays Josie, but I guess that's obvious."

Z waved him silent as the video went on.

_I've made some friends, even got a cool teacher. The principal—_

Z cut though again, "That was me!" He looked at Jeff, "You; I mean…that was you…" Z frowned.

Jeff pointed to the screen to bring Z's attention to it once more.

_And this guy, Victor Pearson, somehow he's behind all the _really_ weird stuff that happens here. We'll figure it out, but in the mean time—these are Strange Days at Blake Holsey High._

Professor Zachary sat back in his chair as Jeff leaned forward and shut off the TV. Jeff's grin shrunk in size while Z sat and did nothing, still staring at the black screen.

After a moment, he spoke, "It's a bit of a blow. I knew things were weird, but _this?_ This is almost beyond science." Z shot a half-hearted grin at his counterpart. "Some times I wonder if I'm out of my league."

Jeff saw the sadness and the uncertainty in the smile and felt the need to reassure the man beside him. "You said it yourself, it's _almost_ beyond science. Luckily, you're amazing at science, and I have no doubt that you and the Science Club will pull through in the end."

Z looked at him again, "Is that a reassurance or guarantee? You having knowledge of the future and all," Z rolled his eyes up to the ceiling, "my future anyway."

Jeff winked at him. "It might be both." Z smiled at him again, but it disappeared quickly.

"It's hard though, this school is astounding and the science club is so intelligent that I never know when to stop them. I want them to learn all they can, but I can't imagine one of them being hurt…" Z faded out and closed his eyes for a moment. Jeff just waited.

"I think I understand something, then suddenly the rug is pulled out from under me and _this _happens. Josie's gone, Marshall's gone, Durst is pushing me to close my office down and I'm almost ready to agree. Vaughn and Lucas don't trust each other at all, Josie was the only thing holding them together, Corrine…Corrine is putting on a brave face, but she can't stand the conflict between Lucas and Vaughn and without Marshall…It's just difficult."

"I can't imagine what you're going through." Jeff thought about stopping there, but something urged him on. "…Maybe that's why this happened. To give you a minute and just sit back and let time go on."

Z glanced at him incredulously. "If that's what it's for then whoever set it up isn't doing a very good job, I'm thinking about it more then ever."

"Then just stop. There's some cold pizza here, we'll stick it in the microwave and talk about the weather."

"The weather?"

Jeff shrugged, "Well something other then this, get your mind off it."

Z paused for a moment and let out a sigh. He turned to Jeff, "Sure why not?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Noel and Jeff laughed as they walked down the hall back to the science office.

"Well I have to say it'll be interesting to see if the same football teams win in your dimension as mine!" Z said with a smile.

"And won't my friends be impressed when I tell them all about the inner workings of a watch." Jeff said with a mirror smile.  
Z laughed, "I hope I didn't bore you."

"No, it was very interesting; I see why the students like your lessons."

"Yeah, if only I could keep them awake!"

The laughter died down as the two men stopped in front of the science office. Z opened the door and held it open for Jeff. Jeff nodded his thanks and stepped through, Zachary following.

Jeff leaned against the wall and shoved his hands into his pockets, looking at the back and white checkered floor. Z did the same and they stood in silence for a moment.

"Now what?" Jeff asked.

Z rubbed his eyes under his glasses and spoke while adjusting them, "I'm not really sure. I hadn't thought all the way through. The last time I used the wormhole, I just jumped and ended up with my face on the floor with Miss Durst glowering at me from the door." He smiled. "That was my first day. All lot has happened since then."

Jeff nodded in agreement. "But hey, you'll get through it, you've gotten through everything else it would be silly to give up now."

"I suppose you're right, but how would you suggest getting back to my own dimension?"

Jeff didn't have to respond, a sinking sensation began pulling at the two men and Jeff's eyes widened as a bright light flashed and the tiles began to warp.

Z grinned at his counterpart and stuck out his hand, "Thank you."

Jeff recovered enough to grab the offered hand and pump it a couple times while still staring in awe at the first appearance of the infamous wormhole. "No, thank you." He tore his gaze from the floor to look at Z with disbelieving eyes, "It really is amazing," he said through his grin.

"It is that." Z agreed walking toward it, "It is amazing." He vanished in a brilliant flash of light, leaving Jeff to stare in wonder before running his hands through his hair and walking out of the office, out of the building, getting into his car and driving away into the night.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Z felt his legs tremble for a moment as the ground of his office rushed up to meet him. He looked in relief around his office; everything was right where it should be.

Suddenly he frowned and looked around once more; something felt wrong…the window! That was it! It wasn't dark outside, it was more of the dusk lighting…or maybe it was dawn. Z spun to look at his clock, seven thirty. He glanced down at his desk and saw uncorrected papers. His brow furrowed, none of the papers were corrected, that meant that it was still today, but why? _Why seven thirty? I'm, I mean my past self, is still in the staff meeting and won't be out for another ten minutes then he would come to this office and work until the wormhole shuffled him off…Oh._ Z's eyes lit with sudden understanding. _That's it. I can take a break! If I leave now, there'll be no stumbling upon myself… I can't believe that's what all this was for. There has to be more to it then that!_

Z continued to ponder as he stepped out of his office and, careful to avoid the staff room, started down the hall toward his room to get a full night's sleep. He barely noticed the Janitor as he walked past.

The Janitor grinned crookedly at the professor's receding back, before continuing to mop and said clearly but entirely to himself, "Everyone needs a break sometimes."

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A/N Well that's it. I know it's pretty short for a chapter story but I did mention that it was more of an out-of-control- Oneshot. I don't think it's my best work, and the endings a bit anti-climactic, but hey a fic is a fic is a fic, right?

Thanks for reading and Please drop me a line, it would make my day!!


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